Driving business change

Matthew Blair at Symatrix argues for the need to focus on people rather than technology when driving business change

 

Over 70% of IT projects fail to deliver on their promise, and it’s not the usual culprits to blame. Good project management, a product specification that’s nailed down and putting stringent cost control in place are not enough in themselves.

 

Technology doesn’t exist in isolation, people are the biggest asset in any new implementation project, but can also represent a real risk. Unless the people using your system are well engaged, on board with the project, and understand how they are affected, your technology investment could fail to deliver the required benefits. Bringing the people along with you requires effective management.

 

People don’t like change. We’re hard-wired to seek stability and we’re keenly aware of any difference or variation in our world. So, any change which affects us could make us feel uncomfortable, and the more we feel that way, the more likely we are to resist that change.

 

In an implementation project, this might mean a poor take-up of training, people avoiding using the new system, or perhaps trying to reintroduce old ways of working. It could even lead to people looking elsewhere for work. Whatever form resistance takes, it will hinder the effectiveness of your project and whether you can achieve the benefits.

 

This scenario may well sound familiar to you. After all, it’s likely that you will have at some point in your career been on the receiving end of a project where you didn’t know what was happening, or at best didn’t understand why the change was needed. You might have felt rushed into the change with insufficient time to adapt, felt there was a lack of training given, or not been given an opportunity to give feedback on the change. You will remember how this uncertainty made you feel.

 

For a business transformation project to be a success, these kinds of grievances must never be left to fester or stand unaddressed. Every organisation undertaking a major change project will need to buy-in from its people during and beyond it. Without that, you are unlikely to achieve all the desired project benefits or get the return you desire on your technology investment.

 

Conversely, a well-run project will not just get “over the line” but will have the enthusiasm and buy-in from users who want to make it a success. So how can you best deliver this?

 

A positive path forward

 

To be successful in any business change project, organisations need to be laser-focused from the beginning on building engagement and reducing resistance. The key is to seek to understand the impact of the change on every stakeholder group, because this can inform comprehensive plans for communications, training, and engagement which help those stakeholders adapt to the change at an appropriate pace.

 

The impact of the project on your people will be much broader than the technology – it’s likely there will also be parallel changes to process and policy; there will be knowledge and behaviour changes required from staff. There may even be organisational changes required too, such as changes to roles or structure.

 

Understanding all these perspectives will enable you to communicate a clear picture of the future to your stakeholders and help with their transition. Even the most complex change can be a success if well understood, well communicated and sensitively handled.

 

Allowing two-way communication is especially important, so that people affected can comment, ask questions and express concerns. Listening and showing empathy can significantly reduce levels of worry and therefore also reduces the likelihood of resistance behaviours.

 

Who performs the business change activities?

 

Some of the key change management activities are outlined above. However, the question is often, who is best placed to perform them? Typically, it is a question of resource and expertise availability. Some organisations will be able to manage these activities themselves from within their existing team. Some will need help with parts of the journey, while others may choose to bring in a specialist resource to manage all of it for them during a project.

 

Overall though, only the very largest organisations are likely to have dedicated specialist business change managers already. Many companies are likely to be wholly unfamiliar with the activities needed to embed change well, so they may need the help of expert change management consultants to prompt them. This is a growing area of professional practice and a qualified specialist can make a huge difference.

 

Specialist providers can offer businesses everything from light-touch check-ins with the business’s change team to compare notes and provide suggestions; to strategic support with change analysis and planning, right through to full end-to-end management of the change delivery.

 

Whatever, the precise scenario and however the change is to be delivered, the success of any project will largely depend on the people impacted, not the technology being delivered. Organisations need to ask themselves: do our people know why we’re making this change? Are they going to be ready for it? Or are they likely to resist moving to the new world? How might that affect our chances of success?

 

Business change management must always address people first and foremost. Ultimately, it can make the difference between just “delivering” a project and making it a real success that has longevity, buy- in and enthusiasm from stakeholders.

 

Delivering change well is less disruptive to operational work, and demonstrates that the business truly values its employees. It is a ‘win, win’ for all concerned.

 

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Matthew Blair is Change Lead, Symatrix

 

Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com